Mad Catz To Produce Xbox 360 Gaming Headset

Third-party peripherals have come a long, long way. A few years ago,
third-party accessories were generally frowned upon, with first-party
accessories being far superior. But today, the quality of third-party
peripherals has improved tremendously. Some are even more comfortable
than first-party alternatives! Mad Catz is also a company on the rise.
They've been branching out in recent years, improving and growing their
portfolio, particularly when it comes to supporting Microsoft's Xbox
360.

This week, the company landed a licensing deal with Microsoft to produce
a licensed, co-branded wireless Headphones for Xbox 360. The company
isn't revealing specific details or images yet, but it's clear that
gaming headsets are all the rage these days. Razer has issued a number
of new entries lately, and Turtle Beach has as well. Now, Mad Catz will
be competing as well. The headset will be produced under the company's
Tritton brand, and will include Dolby 5.1 surround sound. We're
expecting details in the coming weeks, and hopefully a full reveal at E3
later this year.

Unfortunately, they won't be on sale until the holiday season, but at least you can start saving/planning!

Through this agreement, Mad Catz and Microsoft will work closely together to jointly design and brand wired and wireless headphones, resulting in a range of headphones that will bear the Tritton and Xbox logos on both the packaging and the headphones. This will also mark the first time that wireless, licensed and co-branded headphones will be available for Xbox 360.

Commenting on the agreement, Darren Richardson, Mad Catz’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are delighted to be working so closely with Microsoft to design and brand a range of high performance headphones. The headphone category is the fastest growing category in the video game space - and this agreement assists Mad Catz’s Tritton brand in furthering its leadership to provide high-quality, innovative headphones that allow gamers and audio enthusiasts alike to enjoy a superior gaming and listening experience.”

Zulfi Alam Microsoft Senior Director, Xbox 360 Accessories, added, “We are pleased to be working in close collaboration with Mad Catz to design and brand products that we believe will deliver a high quality audio experience to Xbox 360 fans. Whether playing games or enjoying music, movies or sports available on the Xbox 360, we are confident that gamers everywhere will react enthusiastically to this new range of wired and wireless headphones.”

Mad Catz expects that the range of licensed, co-branded headphones will be available for the 2011 holiday shopping season.